We all love a clear blue sky; and to stargaze at night, we banish the clouds to the farthest reaches of the firmament. They get in our way.
However, if we truly want to capture a beautiful image of the heavens overhead, we look for clouds. We position ourselves to catch the rays of the sun as they lance through broken glimpses of blue sky. The effects are stunning, and we are amazed at the beauty that comes from something so simple as sun and clouds.
That is how the world views us as Christians. When we have clear sailing, and there are no clouds on our horizon; when God banishes the storms, and we exult in the blue expanses of sky, then where is the beauty of the dissipating storm? Where is the stunning glimpse of blue sky contrasted against the billowing clouds? Where is the first brilliant ray of victory as it lances through our desolation in a visible declaration of God’s protecting hand in our lives?
We want the clouds, for it is when we break through in brilliant light that we showcase God’s beauty to the unchurched and lost who exist all around us.
Isaiah 60:1 cries out to us:
“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.”
When our victory punches through the clouds of our despair, the beauty that comes with faith in God is all the world will see.
Hebrews 4:12 tells us how we find our source of light:
“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
The clouds of our tribulation cannot hold us back. We have the word of God, and his word controls the very winds and waves that might overpower us.
Acts 22:16 encourages us to let our light shine now:
“And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.”
Salvation is not for our old age, and overcoming our oppressor is not for the next life. Our time for success is now.
Genesis 1:27 tells how it is possible for us to shine with the brilliance of the Lord God Almighty:
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
We are not just God’s creation. We are God’s mirror image. His potential is our potential. When we let him have control of our lives, we become like him, and that means we become something amazing.
We want our lives to be perfect, but more importantly, God wants our lives to be brilliant. When does the sun shine in its most stunning glory? When it’s breaking through the darkest storm clouds imaginable. Let’s thank God for the clouds. They will make us shine.
We shine most brightly when we hold onto Jesus and cast aside the attacks of the oppressor.
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